Neurobiology of the Placebo Effect

The placebo effect is also shown to correlate with activity in the prefrontal cortex, the anterior cingulate, (the nucleus accumbens), the amygdala, periaqueductal gray matter, and even in the spinal cord.

The following quotes are from the review : Placebo interventions for all clinical conditions, Asbj?rn Hr?bjartsson, Peter C G?tzsche, 2010

"We did not find that placebo interventions have important clinical effects in general. However, in certain settings placebo interventions can influence patient-reported outcomes, especially pain and nausea"

"Variations in the effect of placebo were partly explained by variations in how trials were conducted and how patients were informed."

"The effect on pain varied, even among trials with low risk of bias, from negligible to clinically important."

"Meta-regression analyses showed that larger effects of placebo interventions were associated with physical placebo interventions (e.g. sham acupuncture)"

[ http://www.cochrane.dk/research/Placebo%20interventions%20for%20all%20clinical%20conditions%20(Cochrane%20review).pdf ]

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